X-Men Arcade and Maximum Carnage are coming back to modern consoles

Limited Run Games has announced the MARVEL MaXimum Collection. This compilation brings 13 retro superhero games to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The package was put together in cooperation with Marvel Games and Konami. It focuses on arcade, 8-bit, 16-bit, and handheld titles that have been largely inaccessible on modern hardware.

Six players online

The centerpiece of the collection is Konami's 1992 X-Men arcade game. The original cabinet used a clever mirror setup to reflect a second CRT monitor seamlessly next to the first one. This created an ultra-wide display that allowed six people to stand shoulder-to-shoulder and play simultaneously.

The game received a brief digital port for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2010 before licensing issues pulled it from digital storefronts a few years later. The new version brings the arcade ROM back with full six-player online multiplayer and rollback netcode. Replicating that ultra-wide aspect ratio on modern 16:9 televisions usually results in heavy letterboxing. It will be interesting to see how the developers handle the display options.

The red cartridge era

The developers are including multiple platform versions for several of the titles. Captain America and The Avengers includes the arcade original alongside its Sega Genesis and NES ports. Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade's Revenge packs in the Super Nintendo, Genesis, Game Boy, and Game Gear versions.

Players will also get Spider-Man/Venom: Maximum Carnage and its sequel Venom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety. Maximum Carnage was famous for being one of the first video games directly based on a specific comic book storyline rather than just using the characters generally. LJN published it in 1994, and it shipped in a distinctive bright red cartridge. These 16-bit brawlers were absolute staples of the mid-1990s rental store scene.

One hit point

The collection also includes the notoriously punishing Silver Surfer for the NES. Developed by Software Creations and published by Arcadia Systems in 1990, Silver Surfer is a shoot-'em-up that forces the player to navigate tight corridors. The cosmic entity can survive flying into the sun in the comic books, but his video game counterpart instantly explodes if his surfboard gently touches a wall or a rubber duck.

To make games like Silver Surfer actually beatable for mortals, the collection includes standard modern conveniences like save states and an in-game rewind function. There is also a museum mode for archival artwork and design documents.

Replacing the soundtracks

The original music for some of these games is tied up in complex licensing webs. Maximum Carnage had a soundtrack by the rock band Green Jellÿ, and Silver Surfer is celebrated for Tim Follin's incredible chiptune compositions.

To bypass these legal hurdles, Limited Run Games brought in veteran game composer Chris Huelsbeck to write new music for the collection. Huelsbeck is best known for his work on the Turrican series and Star Wars: Rogue Squadron. Replacing the original audio will likely be a point of contention for retro enthusiasts. It is often the only way to get these licensed games re-released at all.

Limited Run Games has not announced a specific release date or price yet.